As mothers, as daughters, as wives, as professionals and as many of the other roles we play on a daily basis we tend to always put ourselves second. Especially when it relates to professional and leadership development. However, in order to take our career to the next level, seek a promotion, negotiate that salary increase or sell ourselves to obtain that dream job, we must make professional and leadership development a priority. The investment in ourselves must be ongoing.

Here are five ways you can begin taking the steps towards a journey of professional and personal success:

1. Know yourself.
One way to know yourself is by taking a personality or leadership assessment. This will provide you with a blueprint of your strength, weakness and potential blind spots. You will also understand what type of environment you thrive best in, how others relate to you and your leadership style. Most important, an assessment will give you a starting point to develop your plan of action.

2. Work with a career and/or life coach
A coach will help you create a plan that will help you determine how to strengthen your areas of growth and help you establish short and long term goals.

3. Educate yourself
Sign up for any opportunities for professional and leadership development. This could be in-person workshops or trainings, webinars, seminars, conferences, forums or roundtable discussion groups. Many networking events also provide a professional development component. Keep in mind that “knowledge is power.”

4. Expand your network
Establish relationships with like-minded women. This network can serve as your support system, as your group of advisors, as your mentors, or simply to socialize and distress. Remember, “Your network is your net worth.”

5. Give back
Influence other women to continue their professional and personal goals. Be a mentor or an advisor to other women, especially young professionals or college students. “A great leader is one that creates other leaders.”

Mujeres de HACE was created in 2009 by the Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement to meet the needs of Latina professionals and corporations to develop and empower high potential Latina professionals to become the leaders in their professional and personal lives that they are capable of becoming. Mujeres de HACE is designed to empower high potential Latinas to succeed professionally and thrive personally by providing insight, access and professional development. Particularly, the program comprises of

  1. Strategizing an action plan, which provides executive one-on-one coaching for the participants, assisting in the development of their five-year plan to achieve professional and personal goals,
  2. Mastering the multiple roles that Latinas professional face, which addresses various cultural components and achieving optimal work-life balance, and
  3. Building a strong network of supportive and mentoring relationships. All of these components assist in empowering and motivating our participants towards greater confidence and achievements in their professional careers.

Apply today and join the hundreds of other Latina women from across the countries that have become a Mujeres de HACE alumnae. For more information on the program or to apply visit our website www.haceonline.org or contact us at mujeres@haceonline.org.